Book Review: The Turquoise Shroud

Title: The Turquoise Shroud

Author: Bobby Underwood

Genre: Mystery

Reviewer: Aly

Book Blurb: 

Seth Halliday is an ex Miami cop who is trying to rebuild the image he once had of himself as one of the good guys. He and his old pal, Harry, a drunk who knows something about regret, dock in beautiful Cozumel. When a young girl comes into their lives and is cruelly ripped away, Seth must put on the tarnished armor to discover who killed her, and mete out justice. As he follows a winding trail of clues from Mexico to Miami and the Florida Keys, he begins to wonder if as the proverb warns, he is digging two graves. From the creator of the exciting Matt Ransom crime series set in the 22nd century comes the modern-day tarnished hero, Seth Halliday.

Review: 

The thing I really want to mention about the writing in The Turquoise Shroud is that the descriptions were really vivid and well done. You could almost imagine you were there, seeing what they were seeing even if you’ve been nowhere near where the book is set. It was amazing really. I loved the depth of the descriptions. 

Then there was also the fact that Bobby Underwood humanizes the victim. Many times with murders the author can almost try to distance the reader from the victim or not bring them to life as clearly as the rest of the characters. That wasn’t a problem for Bobby Underwood. He made me feel as if I knew Nancy and had some kind of acquaintance with her. It made Seth’s quest for vengeance much more personal to me as the reader.

One thing I do want to mention is that the romance between Seth and Caroline were kind of a secondary plot that didn’t really have depth. It seemed as if they were thrown together because it felt like there needed to be some sort of romance. It didn’t feel as real as it could have been. 

Seth was definitely jaded, and while I was reading The Turquoise Shroud I felt as if I was reading one of those old time detective novels. You know the type. It was interesting and had a different feel that many of the mystery/murder novels I’ve read to date. That certainly made this book stand out to me.

I sort of had a sneaking suspicion about who was behind everything although I didn’t understand why or know for sure until Seth did. Which was good because I was happy I had guessed correctly but at the same time I longed to curse an author because they fooled me completely. 

The Turquoise Shroud stands out among the mystery/murder novels that are out today.

Rating: